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Legendary Rock 'n' Roll Club Will Reopen in Asbury Park

The Stone Pony, the shuttered former mecca of New Jersey rock 'n' roll that gained fame as the cradle of Bruce Springsteen's career, is to reopen on Memorial Day under new ownership as a rock venue true to its roots, lawyers for the buyer and seller said yesterday.

The Stone Pony, just off the boardwalk in Asbury Park, closed in September 1998 after a slide that included bankruptcy in 1990 and a brief stint as a dance club called Vinyl. It echoed a broader decline in Asbury Park, a faded seaside resort that recently attracted a team of investors to redevelop its waterfront.

The Stone Pony's owner, Judy Nasar, signed a contract last month to sell the property and its liquor license, said her lawyer, Jules Rossi. The buyer is Dominic Santana, an events promoter and an owner of a Cuban restaurant in Jersey City. Five years ago, Mr. Santana, 38, bought a Chinese-Latino diner near the Grove Street PATH station and transformed it into the Hard Grove Cafe, one of the city's liveliest night spots and one of its few live music venues.

''Bring back the rock 'n' roll,'' Mr. Santana shouted into the telephone yesterday. ''I really feel -- and this is no hype -- but I know that the Stone Pony will be the spark to ignite Asbury Park's renaissance. There's a storm brewing, and we want to be the thunder.'' Mr. Santana said he was paying $375,000 for the property and the liquor license. He will spend $125,000 on renovations, he said, including a ''rock wall of fame,'' with photographs of artists who have performed there.

The liquor license transfer requires the approval of the Asbury Park City Council , said Stephen M. Kay, the city clerk. But Mr. Rossi and Mr. Santana's lawyer, Joseph J. Talafous Jr., said that would not delay the closing on the property next week, perhaps on Tuesday.

Mr. Kay, who saw shows by the likes of Springsteen, Southside Johnny and others at the Stone Pony, said city officials were eager for the reopening, and not just as part of Asbury Park's rebirth.